help me with DMing

[rokar4life]

okay, so, I have DMed before, but that was with a pre-established group when the DM got _______ (i don't want to say), but now I have my very own group that is starting play in a few weeks, specifically I could use some tips on how to start out a campaign, as in the VERY first adventure, like first 10 minutes, but any tips on a semi-first time DM would be very helpful

[BobVosh]

Read stickies: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474

[rokar4life]

I did see that, and have read it, but it says nothing about how to start a campaign

[Narmoth]

I suggest the storyteller approach:
1. what is the theme for the campaign? (explore a drow city, retrieve the kings long lost crown, stop the orc raids on the village)
2. the players meet somewhere apropriate (inside the prison cell of the drow, the kings deathbed, the village tavern)
3. they set out on the first lead (escape from prison, visit the old sage that the king instruct them to visit, man the walls to stop the orc attac)
4. they have other encounters on the way that give them different leads to follow (they fight in the gladiator pit / defend a noble from assassins, get hired by a merchant to escort provisions to wherever the sage lives/hear in a tavern of a warlord that calls himself the new king and have the crown to prove it, or find undead zombies orcs amongst the enemy/find they wear the mark of the local death-god
5. more random encounters, more quest related ecnounters. the quest related encounters should make up several different quests, not only your main quest

[Kaun]

i like to start in combat.. and give them back story on why there in a fight after it is over... i usualy roll int for them myself prior to game starting and who ever go highest i might start with something like.

"ok *insert player name* you just managed to get you head down far enough as the orcs heavy blade narrowly misses decapitating you and sinks into the wood of the door frame behind you. over the orcs shoulder you can see 3 of his friends starting to suround *insert other players snames". its now you turn*

i find it gives a chrs a chance flex there muscle right of the bat establishs a group mentality early and then lets you settle into the game.

[Fitz10019]

Each player was headed to town/city X, and just happened to be in the same caravan. This should suit all backgrounds. Raiders attack the caravan and the players respond. They learn each other's abilities, the value of working together and gain a positive reputation from the merchant witnesses at the same time. This can work well with Kaun's 'start with combat' idea. The raiders could have an emblem that leads right into a main plot, or just be an isolated encounter.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Your basic adventure should go Hook-Development-Cliffhanger-Developement-Cliffhanger-Development-Climax-Denouement.

These can be individual scenes, or each one can be multiple scenes, or multiple parts can happen inside one scene.

The Hook needs to be fast and immediate - basically a Cliffhanger (see below). You get the PCs involved right away, and give them a personal stake (they are or were in danger). In a longer-running game with established motivations, adventures can start with Development Hooks (see below), but a campaign should start with a Cliffhanger Hook.

For instance, the PCs are accused of a crime they know nothing about and chased by a mob or authorities; they're mistaken for someone else; they're attacked; they find themselves in a disaster or other dangerous situation (fire, earthquake, whatever). And once they've survived the initial action sequence, they want to find out what's going on. This is the start of the thread that will run through the whole adventure, and end in the climax and get tied off at the denouement.

A Development reveals new information; the nature of the threat, a weapon needed, someone's motivation or goal, etc. They advance the plot by exposition, revealing more details about it.

A Cliffhanger is essentially an action scene, or any dangerous scene. It's often a fight, but can be a race, a contest, surmounting a physical obstacle, or whatever else. The point is that success hangs in the balance.

You alternate Developments and Cliffhangers (meaning, if you start with a Cliffhanger Hook you follow with a Development, and vice versa) to tell a story and keep it interesting.

A Climax is where everything goes down and gets resolved; the final confrontation, the duel with the villain, the gathering in the lounge where you put together the clues and explain the mystery, the big reveal, the grand finish! It may not be entirely happy - maybe the villain gets away, or maybe the PCs only get away.

A Denouement is essentially an epilogue - what happens or happened after the climax? Did the bad guy go to jail, did everyone live happily ever after, what about those loose ends left in the plot? It can be a GM summary ("Everyone lived happily ever after!"), or it can be a cutscene ("Meanwhile, the evil second-in-command snuck out the back door with the thingamajig!"), a journay back (like in the Hobbit), or it can be any other sort of wrap-up - maybe the PCs go back to talk to characters they met, or talk about the events among themselves.


Edit: All thanks to the inestimable Bubblegum Crisis RPG for teaching me this structure long ago. I was able to crank out 20-episode campaign frames in a day using this.

[derfenrirwolv]

Starting in medias res is a good idea. Beats "everyone is sitting in a tavern when..."

1) Use a battlemat and miniatures. I cannot possibly stress enough how much easier this makes things.

2) Make the fight something easy. A few kobolds and an orc.

3) Leave lots of time for people to figure out how everything works. Go over peoples options, let them explain why or why not you may want to charge, move past enemies, flank, etc.

[Narmoth]

Tsotha-lanti had a great setup, but if you read Dm of the Rings, you don't want to railroad. So, you need to have more than one story spring out from the same start, so they always can decide to follow a different story

[RavKal]

I started my group with a task (You are a member of a mercenary band that is going to clear orcs and goblins out of the mountains, make your character's backstory allow for that), and then I have on a piece of paper a general outline of major plot events, and I wait for the group to find a nice way to get to the next one.

It's kinda improvisation-heavy, but I like it.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Some important stuff to remember: don't plan too far ahead. This keeps you both from railroading and lets you focus on the present. I have seen many an awesome plot ruined because it wasn't quite awesome right now, but rather would be somewhere in the distant future. Improvisation is your friend, but establish some stuff about the gameworld for yourself so you're not totally left clueless.

Then, a starting location is important, as well as a way for your characters to get introduced. Never tell a bunch of brand new freshly rolled-up characters they all know each other already and they've been travelling together for a while, only then to shove a quest down their throat. The great thing about your first session, and a source of much fun during it, is how the PCs meet. Yes, you could go for a tavern, but that's awefully cliché, and the PCs have no real reason to start talking to each other. Having them in a caravan together and sending some mooks to attack them might be somewhat less cliché and works with some roleplaying groups, you be the judge of that.

What I myself like to do is establish clear motives for each and every character. A very illogical thing about most gameworlds is randomly wandering heroes with no real destination or goal. This gives you a chance to brew a story with some player input (through their character backgrounds) and to keep the action moving. They won't be left aimless, that is, a mistake so often made in first campaigns. Also, players tend to appreciate you actually giving a damn about what they put on their character sheet and a customized adventure will make them feel involved and will help them roleplay instead of just roll-playing.

That's about all I can think of for now. Oh, also, start off small. Not every campaign needs to be about defeating an ancient evil who's about to engulf the world with his minions.

[Berserk Monk]

okay, so, I have DMed before, but that was with a pre-established group when the DM got _______ (i don't want to say), but now I have my very own group that is starting play in a few weeks, specifically I could use some tips on how to start out a campaign, as in the VERY first adventure, like first 10 minutes, but any tips on a semi-first time DM would be very helpful

I'm gonna fill in the blank with Burniated. Cursed Trogdor!!!

As for your non-dragon related problem, just say they're in a bar then creature(s) y attack said bar. Being adventurers, they're attack creature(s), and then talk about the fight and become friends. Then, just say that creature(s) y were part of a larger story arch and they go on adventure to stop monsters.

[Devils_Advocate]

You might want to consider starting off with a published module/adventure. There are several collections of free ones that you can download online, I think.